


unwrap myself in front of you, when i think of christmas

by dare121



Category: Happiest Season (2020)
Genre: F/F, Kissing, Masturbation, Missing Scene, Tender Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:27:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dare121/pseuds/dare121
Summary: As a general rule, Harper tries not to let her emotions get the better of her when she’s visiting her parents. It’s tough, because Sloane knows how to push her buttons like no one else and her mom can be vicious with her backhanded compliments. Until now, she’s managed to rein herself in.But this Christmas is different.+++or, the missing scene between Harper and Abby making out in the basement and the morning after
Relationships: Harper Caldwell/Abby Holland
Comments: 16
Kudos: 134





	unwrap myself in front of you, when i think of christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [B_E_J](https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_E_J/gifts).



> oops B_E_J gave me the idea for filling out this missing scene and Here We Are
> 
> i stayed up til 2am last night and finished it just now. also i downloaded the 2020 album of _the naked and famous_ and i am An Emotional Mess. i would recommend listening to _Come As You Are_ while reading this
> 
> hope you enjoy !!

As a general rule, Harper tries not to let her emotions get the better of her when she’s visiting her parents. It’s tough, because Sloane knows how to push her buttons like no one else and her mom can be vicious with her backhanded compliments. Until now, she’s managed to rein herself in.

But this Christmas is different.

This time, Abby is with her. She’s never had a significant other over for Christmas whose feelings truly mattered to her. Even Connor, with whom she has shared the longest relationship of her life so far, never ranked higher than a convenient distraction for her parents. And as a good Christian boy, he never pushed her about being intimate.

Life wasn’t easy, but it was less difficult to swallow her emotions when she didn’t have someone with her who knows her inside and out. Who knows how happy and free she feels in Pittsburgh, and who can tell when she’s not being honest. Either with herself, or with others.

And it’s tempting, too, to forget that she’s not out. To forget that there are people who could see her making eyes at Abby, who could see her touch her hand during her father’s speech. All too tempting to kiss Abby in restaurant bathrooms.

Maybe that’s why she ends up texting Abby after the big party where her dad met Harry Levin.

> [Harper: _What are you doing?_ Sent today – 1:08 a.m.]

Staring down at her phone screen, she’s not sure what she expects to receive in return. She snuggles further down into her blanket and imagines Abby in one of her comfy jumpers and a pair of sweatpants, her hair disheveled from running her hands through it all night. Sans make-up and in her casual wear, Abby always looks like she stepped right out of Harper’s dreams.

She’s so lost in thought, she almost startles when her phone chimes in her hands, flashing up with a picture of Abby brushing her teeth and giving her a peace sign. Harper’s heart nearly bursts out of her chest with how adorable it is, and she finds herself grinning like an idiot.

Then, an idea strikes her. Just because she can’t sneak downstairs, doesn’t mean they can’t have a little fun. Biting her bottom lip, she slides down even further in bed and starts typing on her phone.

> [Harper: _God, you’re cute. This is what I’m doing. Miss you._ Sent today – 1:09 a.m.]

She follows it up with a picture, opening her mouth suggestively and exposing her lace bra underneath her pajama shirt. Her and Abby have only really participated in phone sex once, when Harper was away for a journalism conference, and it’s a fond memory that Harper cherishes. Getting Abby to say dirty things when she’s usually so reserved with her words is an experience all unto itself, not to mention the pictures that Harper has since had to delete, lest her phone is stolen one day, or her family found them.

She waits for Abby to respond with something equally salacious, or perhaps even a compliment. Abby has never been shy about her appreciation for Harper’s body. She anticipates something that will make her feel like she’ll be able to get through these next three days.

Her toes curl in anticipation and dig into the mattress, her fingers closing further around her phone and her eyes wandering to the ceiling. Touching Abby’s hand at the big party was electric, and Harper can’t wait to see her again.

When several minutes pass without a response, Harper is forced to conclude that Abby must have been distracted by something else. A call from John, perhaps, or Harper’s mom making a surprise appearance again. There’s no other explanation for why she would leave Harper on _Read_ after such a picture.

Bummed that her plan hasn’t born fruit, Harper puts her phone on her chest and sinks fully into her pillows. She tries very hard not to make eye-contact with any of the pictures on the walls or the trophies on the shelves. They would only remind her of the coming hurdles that she and Abby will have to jump over, not to mention the many discussions they’ll need to have once all of this is over. Mainly about Harper’s six months of lying about her summer visit to her parents.

And then there’s the promise she made. That she’ll come out to them after the holidays.

That terrifies her most of all.

Before she can sink too deeply into the depressing outlook of being disowned for her _lifestyle choices,_ her phone pings anew and vibrates on her sternum. Abby must be done with her distraction and finally returned to what they were doing.

With a relieved grin, Harper sits back up and unlocks her phone.

What she finds instead of a saucy picture are two messages that make her heart stop.

> [Abby: _I’m coming up._ Sent today – 1:12 a.m.]
> 
> [Abby: _I’m in the utility closet. I think your mom’s in the kitchen. Help._ Sent today – 1:16 a.m.]

With some annoyance, Harper realizes that her phone has neglected to show her the first message when it arrived several minutes ago. She’ll have to replace it soon. But then, just as quickly, all other thoughts are burned from her mind when she realizes what Abby just told her. Her mom is in the kitchen and _Abby is trapped in the closet under the stairwell._

 _Shit,_ Harper thinks as she slips from her bed and into a pair of socks she dropped off the side of the mattress earlier.

This is not what she had in mind when she sent Abby that picture, but she should have known better than to send it when Abby is just at the other end of the house. Her girlfriend has always been too damn impulsive for her own good, despite her responsible streak. Throwing her phone back onto her bed, lest it chime and reveal her location, she opens and closes her bedroom door too quickly and quietly for anyone to hear.

On tiptoes, she makes her way through the hallway. Straight past the several rooms she knows to be empty but unwilling to make a noise either way. She’s not entirely sure where Sloane and Eric have gone to retire, or whether the twins are with them or in Sloane’s old room. Her dad will most likely be in the study, but Harper is hyper aware that anyone could round the corner at any moment. Just as she makes it down the stairs, she hears a loud clattering and quickly hides back behind the bannister.

“Abby!” she hears her mom’s voice, shrilly asking her girlfriend why she’s in the closet. She doesn’t stick around to be discovered; nor does she dwell on the irony of _Abby_ being found in the closet, rather than herself. Instead, she sneaks around the foyer.

Now that her mom will be distracted, she has other plans.

+++

Abby gasps when Harper grabs her around the waist from behind and playfully growls into her ear, before pressing a kiss against her girlfriend’s cheekbone. With a giggle, Abby curls in on herself, her hands clasping Harper’s arms and her face turning towards Harper instinctively.

“Oh my God,” Abby breathes out. “How did you get down here?”

After another quick kiss, Harper lets her go and closes the bedroom door, sending Abby a happy little smirk. She’s never been happier to see another person after a long day, especially one who looks at her with such open adoration.

With a nod towards the ceiling, she pulls a heavy plastic box in front of the door to stop anyone else from walking in. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Even if she were already out, she knows this would be the right call. Her family really has no boundaries.

“When I saw and heard that mess upstairs, I knew that my mom would be busy for the next two hours.” Brushing her hair behind her ear with one hand, Harper gazes up at Abby. She was right earlier. Her girlfriend looks straight out of a dream.

Biting her bottom lip, she rights herself and starts to play with the hem of Abby’s dark emerald green jumper, taking a step in closer towards her and gazing down at her mouth suggestively. It’s easy to see that Abby is picking up on what she’s putting down, and the way her face transforms into one of mischief is beautiful to see.

“What do you want to do for two hours?” Abby asks, just as Harper begins to walk her backwards and cups both of her cheeks. The way Abby fits in her hands has never failed to amaze her, and she can’t fathom how she got lucky enough to date someone this sweet.

“I don’t know,” Harper replies with a wide smile.

“Hmm,” Abby confirms, just before Harper dips down her head and captures Abby’s lips in a kiss. In the next instant, she feels Abby’s hands on her waist and her own knees touch the bed. Because of their difference in height, Harper finds herself crouching a little so as to get a better angle on the kiss, her face tilting to the side as they both fall onto the bed, Harper’s socked feet still on the floor. She quickly pulls them up, too, and takes up her favorite spot: In between her girlfriend’s legs, while covering Abby’s entire body with her own.

“You want to play Uno or something?” Abby asks with a breathless laugh when Harper pulls back from their kiss to suck and nibble on the side of her jaw. “I’m sure your mom has all manner of fun things stashed down here.”

“You mean aside from you?” Harper jokes, taking hold of Abby’s earlobe with her teeth and pulling on it. As she continues to kiss the sensitive spot behind Abby’s ear, she slides her hand across Abby’s chest until she reaches the hem of her jumper again.

“Ha ha,” Abby mocks her, allowing her jumper to be pulled overtop her head and tossed to the floor.

“I drank the _funny_ champagne at the party,” Harper counters, pushing Abby straight back down and admiring the visual of her in her white undershirt. She wants her naked, but even with the box in front of the door, she wouldn’t dare go that far.

“You’re just a real comedian.” Abby lifts her hands in a clear bid to undo the buttons on Harper’s pajama shirt, but before she can make contact, Harper captures her wrist in both of her hands and pins them to the bed.

“My wit is one of my better qualities,” Harper says, her hair falling in a curtain around both of their faces as she leans down to ghost her lips over Abby’s cheek and to her temple, taking care to make as little contact as possible. As soon as Abby tries to turn her face to connect their lips, Harper pulls back. “I thought you wanted to play a game.”

Abby laughs.

“Not this one,” she protests, but Harper knows she isn’t being serious.

“No?” Harper asks, leaning down to kiss the middle of Abby’s throat. Despite a shower, Abby smells vaguely of the perfume she wore to the big party. It’s a scent that clings to her, one that brings Harper comfort and makes her feel safe.

“No,” Abby says, curling her leg around Harper’s waist in order to pull her further in.

With a grin, Harper trails her mouth along Abby’s neck and to the spot where her white undershirt starts to obscure her body. She’s having entirely too much fun teasing her girlfriend, especially with a limited time window, but she doesn’t want to stop.

“I’m sorry to disappoint.”

Sitting up, Harper leaves Abby’s wrists on the bed and starts to unbutton her own shirt. To her great satisfaction, Abby leaves her hands where they are and simply watches, enraptured. There’s something otherworldly about being watched as she shrugs off first one sleeve, then the other. Only once the shirt has been fully dropped off the bed, does Abby disobey the unwritten rules and lay her hands on Harper’s waist.

“Maybe we can compromise,” Abby whispers, her left hand moving down and to Harper’s thigh.

“If you keep your hands where they are,” Harper promises, covering Abby’s fingers briefly with her own to emphasize her point. “I’m sure we can come to an understanding.” She waits for Abby to nod, before getting further up on her knees in order to shimmy out of her pajama shorts.

Once she’s settled back down in nothing but her underwear and socks, Abby moves her palms back to Harper’s waist, though the fingers of her right hand sneak back a little further to cop a feel of Harper’s ass. For now, she lets it slide, because she has far more diabolical things planned.

“I think you deserve an early Christmas present for all the hard work you’ve been putting in,” Harper says, right before cupping her own breast and grinding down on Abby’s stomach, which makes her girlfriend gasp. “Don’t you agree?”

With a thick swallow, Abby quickly nods and stutters out a quick and heavy _Yeah._

Biting her bottom lip, Harper drags her left hand along her own body. In between her breasts, down her stomach, and finally into her own panties. She’s wet, and the way Abby’s eyes follow her movements serve only to add to her arousal.

“Harper,” Abby breathes out.

Bucking into her own hand, Harper circles her clit. Sliding down with her fingers, she gathers some of her own wetness and pulls her hand free. Slowly, deliberately, she brings it to her mouth and sucks in her pointer and middle finger.

Abby follows her every movement, her hands clenching harder around Harper’s waist and ass.

“You’re being so good,” Harper praises her as she goes back to rubbing her clit and pinching her own nipple through her bra. She takes it slow, because she doesn’t want it to be over too soon, but the thing that’s really getting her off is the attention from the person she loves most.

“Only for you, baby,” Abby says, her left thumb sliding around and under the elastic waistband of Harper’s panties. Her eyes are half-lidded and her breathing choppy and just a little too fast. The words make Harper smile, and she lets out a whimper as she picks up her pace and grinds down a little harder on Abby’s stomach.

“Abby,” she moans, keeping her voice low. Jane’s room may have been moved to the basement for the very reason that she wouldn’t wake up anyone with her night terrors, but Harper isn’t a fool. Knowing her family, there may be someone waiting just beyond this door that very second, ready to ruin whatever moment she and Abby are having.

“Fuck, you’re sexy,” Abby gasps, letting go of Harper’s waist and pushing herself up into a sitting position to be closer to Harper’s face. “I fucking love watching you.”

In response, Harper wraps the hand that isn’t picking up its pace on her clit around Abby’s shoulders and drags her into a kiss. It’s sloppy and uncoordinated, because Harper can feel the telltale signs of her orgasm approaching faster than she anticipated. It’s open-mouthed and hot, and Harper is having a hard time keeping her thoughts straight.

Then, there are arms around her and palms splayed across her back, holding her close, and all Harper can feel, see and smell is Abby. Held tightly in her lover’s arms, she comes undone, her climax locking up her muscles and sending shocks and shivers through her. Their foreheads rest against one another, and Abby starts mumbling reassuring words and phrases that Harper is too far gone to truly make out. All she knows is that this is a climax in more ways than one after the last two evenings they’ve had to suffer through.

Breathing heavily, Harper presses a messy kiss to Abby’s cheek and pulls free her hand. But before she can wipe it off on herself, Abby has clasped her wrist and lifted her fingers up to her mouth. With rapt attention, Harper watches as Abby first kisses and then sucks on her knuckles.

With a giggle, Harper pulls free so she can wrap both of her arms around Abby’s neck and draw her into a proper kiss. She vaguely tastes herself on Abby’s lips and tongue, but instead of it turning her on again, it just makes her feel seen.

“I love you,” she whispers, nuzzling their noses against one another.

“Yeah, I can tell,” Abby says dryly, sliding her open palms up and down Harper’s naked back. Her touch is tender, despite her sarcastic tone of voice. “You know, you can be such a tease.”

With a laugh, Harper pushes her back down, before rolling off of her girlfriend.

“You love it,” she counters, stretching out her long legs and wiggling her toes to get some of the lingering after-effects of the orgasm out of her system. Next to her, Abby snorts and sits up, crossing her legs and running a hand through her hair.

“Maybe,” Abby acquiesces, before slumping back into her pillows and stretching out her arms to either side. She stares at the ceiling, and one of her feet pokes Harper in the side, who finally wriggles out of her gray socks.

Closing her eyes, Harper listens to her girlfriend’s breathing, and simply enjoys the quiet. She’s missed the normal moments with Abby the most. The routine of the two of them in the morning, making coffee and eating cereal with their elbows knocking together from time to time. She misses the casual kisses and touches. Hugging Abby from behind while she’s cooking eggs or chopping vegetables.

She _needs_ to come out to her parents. She has to keep her promise to Abby and come out after the holidays. There’s no way around it, not now that she knows how hard it is to be around Abby and pretend she’s not the most radiant human being she’s ever met in her entire life.

“Get out of your own head, Harper,” Abby murmurs, poking Harper’s side with her big toe.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Harper grabs her girlfriend’s ankle, slides up one leg of her sweatpants and starts biting at and blowing raspberries on her calf.

“Harper! Gross!” Abby complains, trying to wriggle away without kicking Harper in the face.

Laughing again, Harper crawls up to collapse next to her girlfriend, her left arm draped overtop Abby’s chest. Snuggling against Abby’s neck, Harper lays her smiling mouth against the warm skin she finds there. For once, she’s not trying to tickle or tease. Instead, she squeezes shut her eyes and throws a leg over Abby to keep the two of them close together.

Almost immediately, Abby curls both hands around Harper’s shoulders and starts stroking the back of her neck and carding her fingers through her hair. The basement falls silent again safe for their breathing and the rustling of sheets. This time, Harper makes every effort not to drift into thoughts of her family again, or of coming out. Rather than dwell on things she can’t change right this second, she moves her fingers underneath Abby’s undershirt and strokes the muscles of her stomach.

“Can I touch you?” she asks, moving her face up so she can look at Abby’s profile.

Turning her face, Abby looks at her with such sweet tenderness, Harper feels like crying.

“Yeah,” Abby confirms, her legs parting for Harper. “But take it slow, okay?”

“Okay,” Harper agrees, keeping eye contact with Abby as she slips her fingers down and under the waistband of her sweats and underwear. She’s hot to the touch, and Harper finds her own breathing picking up when she circles her girlfriend’s opening. “Inside?”

Abby nods.

“Please,” she says, cupping Harper’s cheek with her hand. Her mouth opens in a silent gasp when Harper moves first her middle and then her ring finger inside. In a desperate bid to be even closer to the woman she loves, Harper presses their foreheads against one another and slides her nose against Abby’s.

“You’re so beautiful,” Harper speaks softly as she starts moving back and forth inside her girlfriend, curling her fingers in and out in a steady rhythm while her thumb takes to gently nudging Abby’s clit. She feels entirely surrounded by her slick warmth and wishes this moment could last forever. “So beautiful, Abby.”

“Harper,” Abby breathes in response, her legs shuddering and twitching with every deliberate tug and stroke against her walls. “Harper.”

“I’m here, baby,” Harper reassures her, pulling back her face so they can look at each other again without going cross-eyed. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.” It doesn’t feel like a lie, even though Harper knows she can’t stay the night.

Slowly but surely, Harper feels the climax build in Abby. She can tell from the way Abby’s fingers start to tremble on her cheek, and how her eyes shut and her brows furrow adorably as she tries to hold on to prolong the pleasure. Her walls begin to quiver, too, and her hips roll into each and every stroke of Harper’s fingers.

It doesn’t take much longer to work Abby up into her orgasm, but Harper doesn’t speed up to make it happen faster. If anything, she tries to keep her touches as consistent as possible, because she’s enjoying herself entirely too much to bring about a swift end.

When Abby does go rigid with pleasure – breathtakingly, beautifully clenching around Harper’s fingers – she takes care to carry her through it with gentle reminders of love and kisses to Abby’s forehead. She continues to move back and forth inside her, too, to prolong the experience. She cherishes every memory of Abby shuddering as she comes apart in her arms, and this time is no exception, despite the less than ideal circumstances.

Even after Abby has calmed down, Harper doesn’t pull back her hand.

“That was…” Abby breathes, bringing a hand to her face and rubbing at her eyes and forehead.

“Good?” Harper prompts, moving her fingers in a come hither motion that has Abby both gasping and laughing at the same time.

“A solid bit of work,” Abby concludes. Her smile is lazy and her eyes half-lidded.

“Solid, huh? I can show you something solid when we’re back home,” Harper jokes, nuzzling into the soft space between Abby’s ear again and pressing kisses against the skin she finds there. She finally pulls back her hand, leaving a trail of wetness along Abby’s stomach as she caresses her.

“You are so inappropriate,” Abby chides her with a giggle, dipping down her chin to find Harper’s mouth and bring their lips together in a sweet kiss. Letting out a heavy breath through her nose, Abby grasps around beyond Harper’s back. “Let’s get under the blanket for some cuddles.”

Harper groans.

“I should go back upstairs,” she says while refusing to move.

Abby kisses her cheek.

“You can go back after,” she protests, wriggling around until Harper sits up and helps her move the duvet enough so they can both slide underneath. “I’m not even tired. I just want to spend some time with you; I feel like I’ve hardly seen you since we got here.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Harper agrees, pulling up the blanket and curling up next to her love so they’re face to face. “My dad’s been so focused on his campaign and he really needs me right now.” She clasps Abby’s hand under the blanket and holds it close to her chest. “He’s relying on me to make a good impression on potential donors.”

Abby nods, moving her face a little closer and looking away.

“I know… I just wish he—never mind,” she says, and Harper feels her heart break with every second. She can see how much Abby struggles with being seen as nothing more than her orphan roommate, but she doesn’t know what else to do or say to make it better.

“Once the holidays are over, I’ll tell them everything.” Harper promises again, knowing it doesn’t fix anything but unwilling to admit it. “It’s only three more days. We’ve already survived two.” She pretends not to see the way Abby looks at her, like she doesn’t get it. “And I’m so happy that you’re here with me, even when I can’t touch you. Just… Just seeing you is enough.”

The smile on Abby’s face seems a little forced, but Harper will take it.

“Three more days,” Abby confirms with a nod, snuggling deeper into the pillow under her head and bringing Harper’s fingers to her lips. “Just three more days.”

Her heart breaking a little for her girlfriend, Harper drinks in her face like it’s the last time she’ll get the chance. She takes in her cute nose and intense eyes and lingers on her half-open mouth that’s pulled into an understanding half-smile.

And she doesn’t have the heart to get up.

**Author's Note:**

> and then tipper wakes them the next morning and harper goes "WE SHOULDNT HAVE DONE THAT" and broke my heart all over again
> 
> if you have more prompt ideas, slide em my way! i need to capitalize on my writing energy as best i can before it dwindles again
> 
> no beta, only ME
> 
> if you wanna come chat, find me on tumblr @goshdarnitjay


End file.
